In today's society, it is common to use some form of a computing device to search for, access, and even exchange data with others over wired and/or wireless networks. This data may include different types of structured data, such as audio, video, image, messaging, program, and the like, as well as other types of unstructured data. Consequently, there is a demand for networked file systems that can store large amounts of diverse types of data while also providing relatively fast and reliable access to the stored data.
In response to this demand, various file systems are available to provide access to files that are stored in relatively large data stores. However, just providing access to relatively large networked data stores can be inadequate for many applications. In many instances, providing fast and reliable access over a network to stored data can be as important as the size of the available storage on a data store. Additionally, many applications enable a user to modify at least some of the stored data. While some modifications of data might include changes that affect only a small amount of the stored data, other changes may be global in nature, affecting large quantities of related data that are stored in different data stores. Also, a user might wish to move large amounts of data from one location on a data store to another location on the same or a different data store.
Also, some applications employ data backup mechanisms that require fast and reliable access to relatively large amounts of data in remotely located data stores. These back up mechanisms may employ mirroring, replication, or the like, which are typically used to copy large amounts of data to multiple data stores at different locations. Therefore, it is with respect to these considerations and others that the invention was made.